Strange Soviet Practices

by Ilya Zverev, Ilya Zverev, Boris Yampolsky

This collection answers the questions most often asked by people in the West about the incomprehensible ways of the artificial and inhuman Soviet system: How was it possible that an entire country could live in mute fear? Why did Soviet intellectuals denounce each other and conspire with the authorities to brainwash ordinary people?

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2004

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird. A mish-mash collection of fiction and nonfiction with the general aim of recording/explaining what it was like, both practically and psychologically, to live under Stalinism. (I think. I freely admit to being completely terrible at history in general, and the different flavors of Soviet communism in particular.) I'm glad I picked it up, because it was illuminating and educational (although obviously I have no better grasp of the actual chronology of regime changes than I did before), but the readability of the different pieces varied wildly. There were 2 that I skipped entirely after a few pages of struggle. One was just a longish short story/memoir that wasn't very well written; the other was an actual transcript of a meeting (structured like an informal trial), and I felt like a few excerpts would've actually served better to get the idea across.

Overall, I would recommend this-- it's unique, and it addresses some really pertinent and important issues. I would recommend this especially for anyone who, like me, is a fan of Gorky Park and Martin Espada, or for anyone who, unlike me, has a solid grounding in Russian history and is interested in firsthand accounts of what it was like to live through that particular chunk of time.